| Combination practice baseball bat and laser -> Monitor Keywords |
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Combination practice baseball bat and laserRelated Patent Categories: Games Using Tangible Projectile, Playing Field Or Court Game; Game Element Or Accessory Therefor Other Than Projector Or Projectile, Per Se, Practice Or Training Device, For Game In Which Play Involves Base Running (e.g., For Baseball, Cricket, Etc.), Practice BatCombination practice baseball bat and laser description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060058122, Combination practice baseball bat and laser. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] This invention relates primarily to a baseball (or softball) bat that carries at the hollow interior thereof a low power laser which is capable of emitting a beam of light downwardly through the knob and towards a playing surface whereby a light spot will be cast on the surface. By watching the movement of the light spot along the playing surface as the player takes a practice swing, a coach can visually evaluate the mechanics of the player's swing to determine if correction is warranted. [0003] 2. Background Art [0004] Softball and baseball players are regularly interested in an improved swing so as to maximize their ability to effectively hit and drive a ball. In most cases, a batting coach simply watches the player take a practice swing while gripping a bat in his/her hands. From this, the batting coach must be able to determine if the batter's hands and posterior elbow are properly positioned as he/she strides forward while moving the bat into contact with a ball during the practice swing. Since the practice swing usually occurs at a rapid pace, it may not be easy for the coach to accurately monitor the alignment of the batter's hands, elbow and bat in order to give proper advice. Moreover, once corrections are made, it may be difficult for the coach to fine tune the swing, because of his inability to visually determine slight deviations from what would be considered a proper swing. [0005] Although the use of videotape to record the player's swing would be ideal to accomplish the foregoing, the necessary video recording and playback equipment is expensive and not typically available to most players. In this same regard, such equipment is inconvenient to transport and, therefore, may not always be on-hand whenever and wherever a player is inclined to pick up a bat to practice his/her swing. [0006] Therefore, what is desirable is an inexpensive, readily available, and easy to use means by which to enable a coach or other qualified onlooker to be able to visually monitor and evaluate the mechanics of a player's practice swing. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0007] Briefly, and in accordance with the preferred embodiment, a bat is disclosed of the type having particular application for use by a softball or baseball player wishing to improve his/her swing. The bat has a hollow interior at which to carry a low power laser that is aligned therewithin to emit a beam of laser light downwardly and outwardly through an opening in the knob of the bat. The beam of light causes a light spot to be cast upon a playing surface on which the player is standing while holding the bat. The light spot will move along the playing surface with the bat as the player strides forwardly while taking a practice swing. Ideally, the light spot should move in a straight line path that runs parallel to the body of the player during the practice swing. By monitoring the actual path of the light spot, a coach can visually determine whether the alignment of the player's hands, elbow and bat are correct during the practice swing. [0008] The bat is preferably manufactured from lightweight plastic and includes handle and barrel portions that are detachably connected together at opposing screw threaded ends. The low power (e.g., pen light) laser is received by a channel that is formed in the screw threaded end of the handle portion so that the optical axis of the laser extends downwardly along the longitudinal axis of the bat toward the opening in the knob. The laser beam is directed through the opening in the knob to illuminate the light spot upon the playing surface to provide a reference point from which to evaluate the mechanics of the player's swing. By virtue of making the bat plastic, the player can practice his/her swing while hitting a soft (e.g., plastic or sponge) ball on a playing surface that is located indoors. [0009] According to an alternate embodiment, the laser can be carried within a cylindrical sleeve that is attached to the shaft of a golf club (e.g., a putter). As with the baseball bat, the laser is aimed downwardly to cast a light spot on a playing surface. The light spot moves to track the corresponding movement of the golfer's club during a practice swing so that the mechanics of the swing can be evaluated and corrected. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0010] FIG. 1 shows a softball or baseball player holding a bat within which is carried a laser that is adapted to provide a spot of light that moves along a playing surface during a practice swing; [0011] FIG. 2 shows a golfer holding a golf club to which a laser is coupled so as to provide a spot of light that moves along a playing surface during a practice swing; [0012] FIG. 3 shows an enlargement of the bat of FIG. 1; [0013] FIG. 4 is a cross section of the bat taken along lines 4-4 of the FIG. 3; and [0014] FIG. 5 shows the detachable connection of handle and barrel portions of the bat with the laser carried by the handle portion. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT [0015] Turning to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a baseball player holding a baseball (or softball) bat 1 that is formed according to the preferred embodiment of this invention so that the player can practice his (or her) swing. As will be explained in greater detail when referring to FIGS. 3-5, the bat 1 carries at the hollow interior thereof a low power laser that is adapted to emit a vertical beam of laser light 3 outwardly from the handle 12 so that a spot of light 5 will be cast upon a playing surface. Thus, as the player strides forwardly while gripping the bat 1 in his hands during a practice swing, the light spot 5 will correspondingly move along the playing surface. In this way, coaches will be able to visually monitor the path over which the bat 1 travels during the player's swing. [0016] That is to say, it is preferable that the bat 1 travel in a substantially straight line that runs parallel to the player's body to achieve maximum contact with a pitched ball. Should the player turn his hands and/or drop his posterior elbow and thereby achieve a less than ideal swing, the spot of light 5 will trace a path which deviates from the preferred straight line path. By watching the initial position and subsequent movement of the light spot 5 along the playing surface before and during the practice swing, coaches can easily evaluate both the load and mechanics associated with the swing to determine whether the player's stance and/or body movement requires correction. To this end, an optional practice line (designated 7 in FIG. 1) can be laid or printed upon the playing surface to mark the preferred straight line path of the bat 1 during an ideal swing. Coaches can simply watch the movement of the light spot 5 relative to the practice line 7 to obtain an indication of the efficacy of the player's swing. [0017] Details of the bat 1 and the laser 10 carried therewithin are now described while referring concurrently to FIGS. 3-5 of the drawings. Although it can be manufactured from any suitable material, it is preferable that the bat 1 be manufactured (e.g., molded) from lightweight plastic so as to have a hollow interior. In this manner, the bat 1 can be safely used indoors to strike a soft (e.g., plastic or sponge) ball so as to enable the player to practice his swing under more realistic conditions. [0018] As is best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the bat 1 includes a hollow handle portion 12 and a hollow barrel portion 14 that are detachably connected to one another. A knob 15 located at the end of the handle portion 12 has an opening 16 which communicates with the hollow interior of handle portion 12 for an important purpose that will soon be described. However, it is to be understood that the bat 1 can also be manufactured without a knob at the end of handle portion 12. As with a conventional baseball bat, the player grasps the bat 1 at the handle portion 12 above the knob 15 in order to initiate his swing so as to strike a ball with the barrel portion 14. The opposing ends of the handle portion 12 and barrel portion 14 are provided with sets of screw threads 17 and 18 that are molded therein. The sets of screw threads 17 and 18 are adapted to be rotated into mating engagement by which to connect the handle portion 12 to the barrel portion 14 so that the bat 1 can be used by a player to practice his swing in the manner shown in FIG. 1. [0019] The screw threaded end 20 of the handle portion 12 in which screw threads 17 are formed includes a channel 22. The channel 22 of the screw threaded end 20 is coaxially aligned with the hollow handle and barrel portions 12 and 14 of bat 1. Channel 22 is sized to accommodate and retain therewithin a commercially available low power laser 10. By way of example only, one such low power (e.g., 5 mw) laser which is suitable for use in this application is an LED pen laser manufactured by Opcom O.E., Inc. of Xiamen, China. [0020] When the laser 10 is installed within the channel 22, the output end thereof is aimed downwardly towards the opening 16 in the knob 15 of handle portion 12. In this regard, the optical axis 25 of the laser 10 will preferably coincide with the longitudinal axis of the bat 1. The opposite end of laser 10 extends upwardly for receipt within the hollow interior of the barrel portion 14. Accordingly, the optical axis 25 of the laser 10 extends outwardly through the opening 16 in the knob 15. Therefore, when the bat 1 is grasped at the handle portion 12 above the knob 15 prior to a practice swing, a beam of laser light (designated 3 in FIG. 1) generated by the laser 10 will be emitted downwardly toward the playing surface to cast a spot (designated 5 in FIG. 1) thereon. As described above, the position of the spot 5 along the playing surface is indicative of the movement of the bat 1, the position of the player's hands around the handle portion 12, and the alignment of the player's posterior elbow during the practice swing. Continue reading about Combination practice baseball bat and laser... Full patent description for Combination practice baseball bat and laser Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Combination practice baseball bat and laser patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Combination practice baseball bat and laser or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Apparatus and method for indicating a golf ball's position on the field of play Next Patent Application: Basketball hoop and backboard for a trampoline Industry Class: Games using tangible projectile ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Combination practice baseball bat and laser patent info. 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